


To Be or Nott To Be

by BexYZ



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Jealousy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:55:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29611119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BexYZ/pseuds/BexYZ
Summary: Hermione takes Theo up on his plan to make Ron jealous. Ron isn't the only one who dislikes the arrangement.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger/Theodore Nott
Comments: 162
Kudos: 339





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It had been two weeks and three days since she and Ron had broken up.

It had been two weeks, two days, and six hours since she found him making out with Lavender Brown in the eighth year common room.

It had been two weeks, two days, five hours, and fifty-nine minutes since she had yelled, “Are you fucking serious?!” and accidentally caused three glass candelabras to explode in a surge of emotion-fueled magic.

Her situation hadn’t improved much since then.

If someone had told Hermione two weeks and four days ago that even having the library to herself on a quiet Saturday afternoon wouldn’t cheer her up, she wouldn't have believed them. Now she found herself in her favorite armchair, pretending to read her favorite edition of _Hogwarts, A History,_ and in reality silently stewing over the fact that Ron had apparently begun working his way through the seventh and eighth year girls now that he was a single war hero. 

She was so deeply engrossed in her fantasies of hexing him in the face in various locations around the school that she didn’t hear someone approaching her comfortable seat.

“Granger?”

Hermione jumped and looked up to find a tall, handsome young man from her own eighth year. He was wearing expensive clothes, a loosened emerald green tie, and a smirk that implied he knew something entertaining and slightly suggestive that others didn’t.

“Nott.”

Theodore Nott invited himself to sit in the matching armchair facing her own and leaned back with the easy air of someone who has been quietly in charge for most of his life. He crossed one ankle over the opposite knee and rested his arms on the armrests, his amused grin never leaving his face as he studied her own sulky expression.

“What do you want, Nott?” Hermione asked after a few moments of silence, not in the mood to prolong their interaction.

Theo sighed theatrically. “Ever the blunt conversationalist, Granger. Whatever happened to the niceties of small talk? Maybe a bit of witty repartee? A discussion between intellectuals?”

“What do you want, Theo?” Hermione repeated in the same dull voice as before.

“I have a proposition for you,” he said easily.

“And what’s that?” she asked dryly.

Theo uncrossed his legs and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. At this distance, Hermione could see flecks of brown in his green eyes. With his strong cheekbones, perfectly imperfect tousled hair, and strong forearms, he made an attractive picture. Hermione could have appreciated all of these facts if she hadn’t been in such a sour mood.

“You should date me.”  
___  
Hermione found herself in her four-poster bed later that night, staring at the ceiling and feeling very confused as to how exactly she had gotten herself into this situation. She reviewed everything that had happened that afternoon, trying to decide how her life had gotten so complicated.

Her first reaction to Theo’s proposal was disbelief. She had let out a snort of laughter before seeing his face change to a more firm countenance.

“I’m serious, Granger.”

“You’re serious? You want _us_ to date?” she asked in disbelief pointing back and forth between herself and the boy in front of her.

“Yes. I think it would be in the best interest of both of us,” he replied, relaxing back into his chair.

“You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t quite understand where this sentiment stems from,” Hermione responded, trying to figure out his angle.

“I’ve heard about Weasley’s...indiscretions,” he said carefully.

Hermione huffed. “We aren’t together anymore. He can do whatever he wants.” Her tone did not suggest belief in her own statement.

“Fine, his busy extracurricular schedule then,” Theo amended. “You may not care what he gets up to in his free time,” he continued, in a voice cognizant that she did, in fact, care what he got up to, “but I don’t think he would like it if you took up with one of your mutual classmates. Especially if they wear green and silver.”

“So...you’re willing to help me make Ron jealous? Assuming I were interested, what’s in it for you?” Hermione was curious against her better judgment.

“I have my reasons,” he shrugged.

“Not good enough. I’d need to know more before I agreed to something like that.”

“Fine. I’ve found myself in a bit of a similar situation with Daphne and I don’t think she’d like seeing me with Gryffindor's sweetheart. I’m not looking to win her back, but I wouldn’t mind giving her a little taste of her own medicine. And you’re intelligent and certainly not bad to look at, so why not?” Hermione could tell there was more to the story, but she was distracted by his admission that he might find her somewhat attractive. She hadn’t grown up with many confessions of the sort, and though she knew she’d grown into her looks, she still wasn’t used to men giving her appearance much appreciation.

“It can be whatever we want it to be,” he continued, trying to gauge her reaction when she didn’t immediately answer. “I’m not looking for a long-term relationship or anything. We can just have a bit of fun and see what happens.”

Hermione considered this for a moment. Of the Slytherins she knew, Theodore Nott was one of the least offensive. Really, all of those who had chosen to come back for an eighth year at Hogwarts had worked hard to make amends for their actions and had been cautiously working to integrate with the other houses. This was an especially welcome change since the eighth years all had to share a single tower, built to accommodate the additional students that year. 

Theo was funny, handsome, and admittedly almost as smart as Hermione herself. They shared almost all of their NEWT level classes and she’d always noticed his thoughtful responses in class discussions. Maybe she should give him a chance. And if it happened to irk Ron, well then so much the better.

“I’ll do it,” she said quickly, before she could change her mind.

“Great! How about a study session in the library after supper tomorrow. I'll pick you up from your table in the Great Hall and we can let everyone see us leave together.”

“Um..sure. Yes. Okay.” Hermione got flustered at how quickly this was playing out, but if nothing else he had startled her out of the gloom she’d been experiencing since her break-up.

“It’s a date,” Theo smiled as he stood up from his seat and winked at her before heading out of the library. 

Hermione had gone to bed early and replayed this scene over and over trying to pinpoint exactly when she had gotten in over her head, but it had all happened so quickly and felt so inevitable she finally gave up. Maybe it was time for her to just have a bit of fun like Theo had suggested and like Ron was obviously having himself.

She tried to push her nerves to the back of her head and get some sleep. She had a date tomorrow after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theo and Hermione have their study date. People have... opinions.

Chapter 2

Time was playing tricks with her.

Otherwise, Hermione couldn’t explain how the last two and a half weeks had felt like an eternity of misery while the past 24 hours were barely a blip in her consciousness. Sunday zoomed by and in a flash, Hermione found herself seated with her friends in the Great Hall eating supper.

Her friends had created a buffer zone between her and Ron that evening, so she only had to look at him flirting with Lavender and Parvati instead of listening to it as well. She knew that would have ruined her appetite. She would happily pretend to listen to Ginny and Harry discuss Quidditch instead. 

She had almost forgotten what she had planned for this evening when a friendly voice behind her drew the attention of their half of the Gryffindor table.

“Hello, Hermione. I’ve been looking for you.”

She turned and saw Theo smiling down at her and her friends as if his presence there was no more unusual than Dean’s or Seamus’s would have been. She could feel Harry staring down her new companion as she attempted to match her tone to Theo’s calm cheerfulness.

“Hi, Theo,” she said, hoping her face looked pleased at his appearance instead of tense and worried about their plan.

"Are you ready to go?" he said, picking up her books for her.

"Where are you going, Hermione?" Harry asked, eyes never leaving Nott.

"Oh, Theo and I are going to study. Together. In the library," she answered, trying to sound natural. Hermione wasn't used to failing, but she had to admit she wasn't really nailing a casual tone. Thankfully, her friends were fairly oblivious and didn't notice anything odd outside of Nott's general appearance in their company. She saw Ron's eyes break away from the girls and glare in their direction.

Theo flashed them a charming smile as he spoke to Harry. "Don't worry, 'Dad.' I'll get her home by curfew." He winked at Ginny who chuckled to herself. Hermione rose to leave.

"Oi, Nott! What do you think you're up to?" Ron's temper and curiosity had finally reached their limit.

Theo's smile cooled but didn't completely leave his face. "Hermione and I are going to work together on our Arithmancy paper in the library. I don't believe you qualified for the NEWT level course, so I'm sure it would be very...uninteresting for you."

Ron glowered at the implication that he wouldn't understand their coursework, in spite of the fact that Theo was probably right.

"Oh, and Weasley?" Theo added, "I'm merely answering out of courtesy. Last I heard, Hermione's activities are no longer any of your concern." Ron gritted his teeth as Theo nodded to Ginny and Harry and turned to leave. He guided Hermione ahead of him with a hand between her shoulder blades which unfortunately didn't provide any protection from the daggers she felt Ron's eyes shooting at her back.  
___  
Hermione and Theo made their way to a table near the back of the library and Theo started to pull out his paper and quills.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked.

"Our Arithmancy paper?" Theo answered with questioning look.

Hermione looked at him for a moment. "I thought we were setting up a plan or ground rules or something for our ruse."

"Ruse?" he said uncertainly. "I asked you on a study date and you said yes. I know the plan is that this also gets under Weasley's skin - something that worked exceedingly well, by the way - but I really did ask you out. I know I said it could be whatever we want it to be, but I think my exact words were 'you should date me' so I thought dates might actually be part of it." Theo had set down his materials and looked at her with his green eyes open and honest. "I'm not saying I'm in love with you, Granger, or anything like that. But I think we'd at least be good friends if we give it a chance."

Hermione flushed. She was embarrassed about how she'd so deeply misunderstood their situation. Then she felt a little guilty that she was initially more excited about lying to all of her friends to invite jealousy than she had been to spend some time with this admittedly smart, funny, and handsome young man. 

"I'm so sorry, Theo. You were pretty open about your intentions and I completely misinterpreted everything." Hermione stopped and took a deep breath before continuing, "I think...no, I _know_ that I'd like to at least spend some more time with you."

"I don't want to force you into anything, Granger," he said, holding his open hands up to her. "You don't have to do anything out of some misplaced sense of obligation."

"No, I think you're right. If nothing else, I do think we could be good friends and enjoy doing things together. We can leave it open and go from there."

She smiled at him, a little shy but genuine. He grinned back at her. 

"Great! Now, if you decide you'd like to _enjoy doing other things_ together," he said, wagging his eyebrows at her, clearly teasing, "I'll go ahead and throw out that I'd be totally up for that." 

"Theo!" she gasped, smacking his arm gently.

"But seriously, Hermione. I'm not going to force anything. Let's have some fun together, and if we can get under Weasley's skin, so much the better." He smiled at her again and then turned back to his bag to finish getting out his textbooks.

"And Daphne's, right?" Hermione added, realizing he hadn't mentioned the eldest Greengrass sister at all this evening. "I didn't see her at dinner tonight. Did she notice us?"

"Oh, yeah," he said, still looking in his bag. "Her too. She wasn't in the Great Hall, but people talk. I'm sure she'll find out quickly." Hermione shrugged and got out her own materials so they could get started.  
___  
That evening, Theo and Hermione headed back to the eighth year common room together and he walked her to the door leading up to the girls' staircase. He gently took her elbow and spun her around to face him.

"I had a good time tonight," he said, leaning against the wall and crossing one ankle over the other. "It's nice to have someone to work with that actually understands the material and can hold an intelligent conversation."

"True! I enjoyed it as well," Hermione agreed with a laugh.

"And Weasley happens to be behind you, looking like he's going to hex me, so I think that side of things is working as well," he said, leaning closer to her and whispering. He reached up and spun one of her curls around his finger. "I also think he hates me doing little things like this," he added with a smirk.

Hermione chuckled as she imagined the look on Ron's face. She really did like Theo's company and she thought maybe she wouldn't mind getting to know the tall Slytherin more after all. Then she caught a glimpse of another unhappy face, not attached to vivid red hair.

"I don't think your friends like this much either," she said. "Well, part of them anyway." She saw a group of Slytherins sitting together near the fireplace and glancing in their direction. Pansy Parkinson was looking at them curiously and probably hoping for some gossip to share. Blaise Zabini looked amused more than anything. But Draco Malfoy had his eyes narrowed at the couple looking most displeased with his friend's actions.

"They'll get over it," Theo said, leaning in even closer. "Can I kiss you good night? I'll stick to the cheek if you prefer."

She smiled to herself at his concern over her consent, even with just a kiss on the cheek. She leaned up and kissed his instead.

"I had a good time tonight. Good night, Theo," she said a little more loudly. She heard a snicker from Parkinson and Zabini's direction and a grunt from somewhere behind her, but tried to ignore them all. 

Theo looked pleasantly surprised as she slipped through the door to her dorm. 

"Good night, Hermione. See you soon."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drama, drama, drama...angst, angst, angst. 
> 
> Theo is adorable, Draco is silly, and Hermione is oblivious. You know, the usual.

Chapter 3

"Is this seat taken?"

Hermione looked up at the owner of the overly suave-sounding voice to see Theo grinning cheekily down at her. She moved her inkwell and spare parchment over to give him space at her Potions table, gesturing to the seat beside her. 

"By all means," she smiled back.

Theo set down his things, leaned close, and looked at her in faux seduction. "So, what's a nice witch like you doing in a dungeon like this?" he asked in a deep, rich tone she was sure had ignited more than a few crushes during his career at Hogwarts.

Hermione wasn't sure whether to giggle girlishly or push him off his stool, so she settled for good-naturedly rolling her eyes, patting his hand, and whispering, "Easy there, Casanova." His eyes danced in mirth as he watched her attempts to keep a straight face. She finally gave in and chuckled at him, earning a more genuine smile and a shoulder bump from the taller student before he turned to get ready for class.

Hermione had been enjoying her new friendship for a little over a week since their first study date. Theo was complex and she was having fun discovering more about him. She appreciated his sense of humor but also his attention to his academics. He was flirtatious but only playfully. Otherwise he was respectful, mannerly, and let Hermione set her own pace with their interactions. He was confident without the arrogance she had once associated with his companions and he was complimentary towards her without it ever feeling forced.

All in all, she quite liked spending time with this quirky Slytherin and it seemed the feeling was mutual.

Ginny seemed to be taking this new development in stride. Hermione was originally worried her friend would side with her brother after the break up to the exclusion of their friendship, but she was quickly disabused of that notion. Ginny found Ron's quick turnaround almost as distasteful as Hermione did and they were all tired of his public snogging sessions. She was more interested in getting the details about the blossoming connection between Hermione and Theo, pressing her friend for details after every encounter. 

"He is quite handsome. I thought so even before the war, but I never said anything because he was a Slytherin, you know? Now tell me everything. Has he kissed you yet? Do you have another date scheduled?" Ginny had very little concept of privacy or timing as many of these conversations took place in Great Hall in front of the entirety of their friend group and half of Gryffindor house.

Her enthusiasm merely highlighted her boyfriend's opposing opinion. Harry spent most of these dinner conversations either chewing his lip in thought or questioning Hermione's every decision. 

"Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Hermione? Something is going on with the Slytherins and I can't figure it out. Even though we’ve been getting friendlier with them, there are certain things I still don’t think they’re going to share. Malfoy, for instance, has been in a foul mood for days.”

Hermione had also noticed the blond Slytherin’s general state of annoyance lately, which brought her back to their current situation in class. As Theo leaned over to tuck a curl behind her ear in order to see her face better, they both heard a loud huff from a table behind them. Hermione glanced back and saw Malfoy slamming his textbook on a nearby table and muttering under his breath. She couldn’t catch the words, but clearly something was wrong.

“What’s been going on with your friend, lately?” she asked Theo, nodding back at Malfoy’s theatrics. Theo rolled his eyes in response.

“Don’t worry about him. He’ll sort himself out. Eventually. Maybe.”

Hermione was prevented from asking any further questions by the appearance of Professor Slughorn and the beginning of class. She and Theo worked well as partners in Potions, each catching something the other might have missed and finding a rhythm between adding ingredients, stirring, and referring back to the recipe. By the end of class, Professor Slughorn had proclaimed them the “Power Partnership of Potions.” At this declaration, Malfoy had tossed his belongings back into his bag and stomped out of the room.  
___  
“So...a power couple, huh?” Ginny asked Hermione at dinner later that day, a knowing grin on her face.

“I believe his exact words were “power _partnership_ ,” Hermione corrected. “And specifically in Potions. He was just saying we make a good team. Don’t read more into it than there is.”

“Well, exactly how much is there?” Harry asked seriously. “Is he your boyfriend now?”

“We are just friends who like spending time together. If something happens, it happens, but I’m not labelling anything.” Hermione blushed and tried to change the subject. “So Neville, how is your Herbology project going?”

Thankfully, one could always count on Neville to wax poetic about plants and their applications, so Hermione was able to avoid any further inquisition. She did honestly like Theo, but she wasn’t sure that she wanted to date him officially. She didn’t have any reason for this feeling, so her logical mind told her it was better to wait and collect more data before rushing to any conclusions. 

She didn’t know if it said anything about their relationship that her logical mind, as opposed to her emotional one, was the one in control or not.  
___  
Whatever her romantic feelings may or may not be for Theo, she couldn’t deny that she was growing closer to him and that if nothing else, she would be very thankful this experience had resulted in their newfound friendship.

One evening they were sitting together in the common room, each reading their own book. Hermione was leaning against one of the armrests of a sofa with her feet in Theo's lap. Theo held his own book in one hand while his other rested on Hermione's ankle, his thumb rubbing little circles against her skin.

Draco and Blaise entered the common room together after Slytherin quidditch practice, both soaked from a surprise downpour that had interrupted them halfway through. Blaise's dark hair was plastered against his forehead and his robes looked like they were dragging him down due to the extra water weight. He looked exhausted and slunk off to shower, disappointed by the early end to practice.

Draco, on the other hand, had removed his robes before returning and carried them separately over his arm. Underneath he wore a white t-shirt, wet enough to act as a second skin revealing his muscled torso. Hermione found herself unexpectedly distracted by the movement of those muscles as he rolled his neck and loosened his shoulders while talking to Pansy, Daphne, and Padma. 

Draco must have felt her eyes following his every movement. He turned away from his conversation and caught her staring. She felt her ears starting to turn red and bit her lip, knowing she'd been caught. He raised an eyebrow and smirked back, running his hand through his wet hair. Then he noticed Hermione's companion and their comfortable contact on the sofa. She watched his expression morph back into his more common sneer, excused himself from the other girls, and stalked off to his dorm. Hermione didn't know what to make of his quick mood shift. Theo appeared not to have noticed the exchange, but Hermione knew he was far more observant than he might initially appear.

The other girls left the common room soon after Draco's exit, heading back to the girls' side of the dorms.

"Good night, Theo! Night, Hermione!" Daphne called cheerfully as they disappeared down the hallway. Hermione gave her a confused half-wave. She didn't have long to ponder over the girl's friendly, unperturbed mood when they were interrupted yet again, this time by Ron's loud arrival.

"This common room is starting to feel like a bloody train station," Theo muttered, as Ron also noticed their apparent ease with each other and approached their sofa. 

Unlike the earlier puzzling responses from the Slytherins, Ron left no one wondering about his feelings on the matter. The entire common room was privy to them given the volume at which he expressed them.

"What the hell, Hermione? Getting all cozy with the snakes, are you? Got yourself a new boyfriend to parade around school with and string along?"

"Ron, I'm not doing this here," Hermione said, trying to stay calm. She felt Theo's grip tighten on her leg.

"He's just trying to get in your pants," Ron continued. Anyone around the room previously trying to act uninterested was now completely tuned in for the fight. "Bet he doesn't know how tightly they're kept on lockdown most of the time. And how you never want to try anything new -"

"That's enough, Weasley!" Theo had dropped Hermione's legs and stood up to face Ron. "Are you really such an asshole that you're going to try and shame her for not fucking you enough? And in front of everyone?" He gestured around the room and it seemed as though Ron was just noticing their classmates for the first time. "Merlin knows how the fuck she touched you in the first place if this is how you treated her. You should go now. And Weasley? Leave. Her. Alone." At this last part, Theo had stepped closer to Ron and nearly growled out each word.

Ron's face went red and then immediately blanched white. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I don't know what came over me. I didn't mean it. None of it." 

Hermione was up now too and had been facing the altercation, but now she turned away and sat back down on the couch, arms crossed and eyes watering. "Just go, Ron. I don't want to look at you right now."

Ron slunk out of the room, avoiding the eyes of the onlookers. Once he was out of sight, the others turned back to their conversations and classwork and games almost as if nothing had happened. Hermione could hear extra whispers though. Theo reached out to touch Hermione's shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

"Honestly, no." She curled in on herself a little. "I didn't expect that. His jealousy didn't feel as good as I'd hoped it would. I...I think I'm just going to go to bed now."

"Sure, of course. If you need anything…?"

"I know where to find you. Thanks for sticking up for me, Theo."

She stood and smiled wanly at him. He squeezed her hand as she made her way to her room, falling into bed and wondering when things got so complicated  
___  
The next morning, Ginny and Harry met Hermione for breakfast to cheer her up. Dean and Seamus had given them a play-by-play from the night before and they had each gone to tell off Ron separately, Harry with his words and Ginny with her fist. They were both quite persuasive.

"He shouldn't have done that, Hermione," Harry said. "I know he was already having a bad day but -"

"Nope! No excuses for him! Hermione did absolutely nothing wrong and he attacked her. And he has the gall to do so after snogging half the year in public!" Ginny exclaimed.

"It sounds like Nott really stood up to him too. He's been the real gentleman and...and I'm glad he was there, Hermione," Harry admitted.

"I _can_ take care of myself," Hermione grumbled half-heartedly. She _was_ glad Theo had been there the night before but she also knew his presence was what set Ron off in the first place, which used to be their goal. Lately, though, she hadn't been thinking about Ron at all. Theo had provided a wonderful distraction.

And as if she had summoned him with her thoughts, Theo appeared and walked straight towards her as if on a mission. She stood to meet him and he grabbed her in a tight hug, burying his face in her hair. She was surprised, but hugged him back a few seconds later.

"I'm sorry," he whispered near her ear. "I never expected him to attack you like that. We can stop all of this if you want, but I hope you don't. I hope we can keep spending time together, but I'll do whatever you want. You say the word and I'm gone. Are you okay?"

Hermione nodded and smiled into his shoulder. This wasn't just some revenge plot for him either anymore.

"I don't want to stop being friends with you," she said. 

He gave her a half-smile and said, "I'll take it." Then he held her cheek and kissed her forehead before letting her go.

He backed away a little shy, a look Hermione had never seen on him. "I'm going to go eat breakfast now, I guess. See you soon." Then left to join his friends at the Slytherin table. Pansy looked like her gossiping Christmas had come early and Daphne smiled at Theo when he sat down and gave him a thumbs up.

Hermione's attention was snatched away from their group by Ginny's squeal of excitement next to her. 

"That. Was. Adorable!" she shrieked. Even Harry gave a short nod of agreement. Ginny proceeded to give her detailed analysis of the short interaction until Hermione had to run to Transfiguration to avoid being late.  
___  
Hermione was due to meet up with Theo at the library and was racing down the hall to the next staircase. She'd gotten wrapped up discussing their new Charms assignment with Professor Flitwick and had lost track of time. As she approached the corner, she heard heated voices, including Theo's. She hoped Ron hadn't cornered him. Then she recognized the other voice.

"I can't believe you're seeing _her_ after everything we've been through together." It was Malfoy.

"You don't get to make those decisions anymore." Theo sounded exasperated, like he'd had this conversation with him before.

"But you know how I feel about -"

"Shut up, Draco. We've been through this. I don't want to hear it again."

Hermione backed away and ran to the bathroom, tears threatening her eyes. She had thought they were past this. She had thought Malfoy had changed, but he still couldn't stand for his pureblood friends to be with someone like her. 

She wiped away her tears and stood tall in the mirror. 'Who cares what Malfoy thinks if he's going to continue with outdated prejudice?' she thought to herself. Theo obviously didn't believe it anymore, and that's what mattered now.

She went back to the library and found Theo at a table working as though nothing had happened.

"Have you been crying?" he asked her after seeing her face. "Did something happen?"

"No...I just….well I heard part of your conversation with Malfoy, and I'm just tired of everyone having an opinion about us."

Theo looked at her warily. "What did you hear?"

“He didn't sound very pleased with you. Is he mad at me for hanging out with you? Or at you for asking me out? Lowering yourself to my level? I thought he’d put all of the blood purity mess behind him. He’d even seemed cordial earlier this year, but lately he’s back to his angry grumbling and sneering.”

“Eh...yes and no. Yes, he's been off lately. But no, it's nothing to do with you being a muggle-born or anything of the sort. Don’t let him fool you. He has no hard feelings towards you at all.”

“He could have fooled me…” she muttered. "Let's just get to work." She put her head down and tried to let Arithmancy block out all of the drama of the last 24 hours.  
___  
"Come on, yes, just like that!"

"Yeah, that's it, Hermione!"

"Harder, Theo!"

"Almost...there...!"

"Yes, I feel it coming!"

Draco heard grunts and groans coming from Greenhouse 7 and burst in through the door.

"What the fuck is going on in here, Nott?!"

He scanned the room until he found Theo prying open the mouth of a Venomous Tentacula while Hermione had her arm down it's throat up to her bicep. They were both wearing long gloves up to their shoulders and breathing heavily.

"Got it!" Hermione crowed as she pulled her arm back out and Theo let go, falling to the floor from the fight. In her hand was a Herbology textbook looking a bit worse for wear, but surprisingly undigested. "I don't know why it went for the book. Unless we accidentally dropped some food on it?" She wandered off to put the gloves away, pondering the unusual behavior of the plant as Theo stood up and grinned at Draco, shoving his hair out of his eyes.

"And what was with that _fascinating_ display?" Draco asked Theo drily. 

"No idea what you're talking about, old pal," Theo said, looking far too pleased with himself.

"You knew I'd be down here to check my project at this time. I bet you dumped food on her book just to make that bloody plant eat it."

"I'd never harm a page of Hermione's texts," he said innocently. "I put it on mine instead."

Malfoy grunted and hit his friend's shoulder with his own as he walked past.

"See you around, Granger," he said as she returned from the equipment cabinet.

"Um...yeah. See you later." She shrugged. Malfoy being polite wasn't the weirdest thing she'd seen this week. And that was saying something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has big feelings, but they'll get there. Hopefully. Maybe. 😉


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hogsmeade and holiday plans!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for any mistakes. This was written on a phone by someone whose fingers work faster than her brain nearly all of the time. 😆

Chapter 4

November brought with it warm sweaters, the first snowfall of the season, and another Hogsmeade visit for Hermione and Theo. She was enjoying the fluffy flakes that collected in her curls and made a bright contrast with Theo’s dark hair. Their fingers intertwined on their walk to the village, Theo was rubbing her hand with his thumb and arguing the merits of Chocolate Frogs over Hermione’s favorite Honeyduke’s treat, Sugar Quills.

“Chocolate has a far more complex flavor than pure sugar. They’ve even started selling dark chocolate and white chocolate varieties!”

“White chocolate isn’t even chocolate, Theo. Thus, your argument is invalid. One point for Granger.” Hermione adored a good debate and Theo was a worthy opponent, even if the subject matter was silly at best. “Besides, Sugar Quills are actually useful too. And they last much longer than other snacks.”

“You literally dip your food in ink and then your hands get sticky for days until it’s finally gone. No thanks.” Theo gave her a look that was half amusement and half honest disgust.

“You don’t eat the part with ink,” Hermione replied, rolling her eyes. “Everyone only likes Frogs for the cards, anyway, not the taste. If you're purely arguing about the better treat, taste should be the most important factor.”

“Says the witch who is trying to use their writing ability as a core part of her defense!” Theo responded, gleefully. “Point for Nott.”

“Fine. Agree to disagree?”

Theo squeezed her hand and gave her a kiss on the temple as they entered the village boundaries. “I’d agree to many things for you, Hermione,” he said softly.

Hermione felt a flutter in her stomach. She truly loved spending time with Theo. Their lively conversations, walks around the lake, cuddling on the common room couches, and even Theo’s over-the-top flirting and innuendo were all things that warmed her inside and made her flush with affection. But sometimes, like now, Theo would drop his sharp, witty act and be so sweet and vulnerable with her. And for some reason those instances almost made her feel uncomfortable. _Shouldn’t it be the opposite?_ she wondered to herself.

“Oooh...can we go into Tomes and Scrolls?” Hermione asked, a bit too loudly. 

“Of course, my lady. Anything for you,” Theo answered with a small bow, returning to his theatrical and comedic side, possibly sensing her discomfort. He gestured for her to lead the way into the bookshop and followed her as she browsed the shelves, any confusing feelings melting away as she surrounded herself with pages and knowledge and the wonderful smell that only old books can provide.

Theo had gotten behind, looking over a new Runes translation that had just been released and Hermione started down the next aisle. Her eyes were glued to a shelf of advanced Transfiguration texts and she paid no attention to the world around her. Suddenly she was bumped off-balance until she felt a strong pressure on her arm helping right her.

“Granger! I didn’t see you there. Are you okay?”

It took Hermione a few moments to understand exactly what was happening. One, she had been nearly knocked to the ground by Draco Malfoy. Two, the pressure on her arm was the hand he’d quickly shot out to catch her before she fell. Three, that hand was still on her arm. Four, he was looking at her with his slate gray eyes wide, checking if she was all right, and they held no hint of scorn or mockery. Five, or maybe six, she was starting to lose her sense of numbering and her overall thought process. His gaze had distracted her and inspired a lively internal dispute over whether the color of his eyes leaned more towards silver or pale blue and wondering if that was a constant or if it changed based on lighting or what he wore. And what he wore was a tan collared shirt under a well-fitting deep blue sweater with a pair of khaki-colored pants which made him look beautifully tailored while the fringe that hung down in his eyes as he looked down at her from his disparate height softened him and made him look more casual. And…

And Hermione was snapped from this spiraling line of thought by another familiar voice behind her. She turned away from Malfoy’s face to meet the person arriving from the other end of the aisle.

“Hermione? What’s going on? Is everything okay?” Theo had turned the corner and saw her standing close to Draco, who quickly dropped his hand from her arm. Hermione's arm felt tingly where his hand had been but she tried to ignore it.

"We're fine, Theo!" Hermione answered with a smile a tad too tight to be completely natural. "Just happened to run into Malfoy here."

"Literally. I apologize for that, Granger. I really should have been looking where I was going. Terribly clumsy of me," Draco said, turning back towards Hermione.

Hermione and Theo both stared at him. Malfoy apologizing? Calling himself clumsy? Actually being clumsy? Draco Malfoy was a lot of things, but clumsy wasn't one of them. His aristocratic upbringing along with his quidditch practice and natural athleticism had always given him a very poised, steady manner. Hermione used to equate this with arrogance, but lately she thought it was more likely just posture that had been firmly enforced from a young age.

Theo was the first to recover. He glanced at Hermione before speaking. "Right, well, would you care to join us? We have no definite plans for the day but I'm sure we could find something to do in town. Grab a bite to eat?"

Draco and Theo appeared to be trying to get along since the heated conversation she'd overhead in the hallway a few weeks before. She held her breath, unsure of which answer she hoped for.

Draco's eyes cut to Hermione before looking back and answering, "Actually a group of us already had plans to meet at the Hogs Head. Me, Pansy, Daphne and Anthony, Blaise and whatever girl he's seeing this week." At this Theo and Draco laughed as if sharing an inside joke. Hermione had never seen this side of Malfoy before. It must be how he usually acted, when he was comfortable around friends instead of Gryffindor rivals. Which side did she fit into currently?

Theo looked over at Hermione with questioning eyes. He was letting her take the lead on having lunch with a group of Slytherins and their guests. She gave him a small nod and he smiled, eyes crinkling at the corners.

"We're in. What time?"

As he and Draco discussed logistics for lunch, Hermione wandered further down the aisle, gathering her thoughts and picturing what lunch might have in store for them. Malfoy seemed like an entirely different person than he'd been the last couple of months. And they'd be up close and personal with Daphne for the first time too. She just hoped Theo's easy-going personality would help ease a Gryffindor into the mix without too many hexes.  
___  
Two hours later, Hermione found herself on the end of a round booth with Theo, Anthony Goldstein, Daphne, Blaise, Neville, and Pansy. Neville smiled bashfully at her as she sat down, looking thankful for a familiar face and maybe a little embarrassed he'd been caught with his own Slytherin as well.

"Should we wait for Draco or go ahead and order?" Daphne asked.

"I'm here!" Malfoy called as he approached the table. "Sorry for the delay." He looked at the booth wrapping around the table with Hermione seated at one end and Pansy on the other. Pansy looked pointedly back at him and raised her eyebrow as if daring him to sit by her. Hermione suddenly remembered an incident between them in the common room a few days prior. Draco had implied Pansy couldn't find a date because she had already tried out all of the available options at Hogwarts, at least sixth years and up. She hadn't appreciated such insinuations, regardless of their veracity. Apparently she was still upset with him.

"Mind budging up then, Granger?" Draco asked, not unkindly. "I think Pansy is still imagining hexing me into next term."

"And well-deserved it'd be too," she called across the table. The others all laughed, including Malfoy.

"Who'd have imagined me being your friendliest option?" Hermione added, then questioned whether she should have brought up their tumultuous history. Thankfully, it just caused another round of laughter around the table and then people began to place their orders.

Hermione was taking a drink of water when Malfoy leaned into her to try and whisper to Theo. She could feel his thigh pressed against hers and her arm felt warm against his sweater.

"Guess we were wrong about Blaise, eh?"

"Yeah, I guess he couldn't get a date after all," Theo whispered back, putting his arm behind Hermione to get closer.

Draco smirked at him. "I meant we were wrong about which _girl_ he would bring."

Theo thought for a moment and Hermione could see the second he understood what Draco was saying. "Huh, I thought Longbottom was here with Pansy," he stated. Then, with a thoughtful look on his face, he added, "I can see it though."

"What do you think, Granger? Is Longbottom here for Pans or Blaise? Or both? I won't judge," Draco shrugged, looking at Hermione. She turned to answer him, not realizing just how close his face was to her own. She felt her mind fog up at the proximity of his lips to her own and said lips suggesting her childhood friend might be involved with a polyamorous relationship that included Draco's old ex-girlfriend _and_ implying he was totally comfortable with said relationship.

"Hermione? Are you alright?" Neville was trying to get her attention from across the table. She smiled at him feeling equal parts nervous about how long she might have been staring at Malfoy's mouth and thankful her friend was far enough away to have not overheard the conversation about his dating preferences. She gave him a thumbs up and he nodded, relaxing back into his own conversation.

"Do you have plans for Christmas break, Hermione?" Daphne asked across the men between them.

"Oh, um...I hadn't decided entirely, but I may just stay for the holidays. It'll be our last chance before we graduate." Hermione didn't add that her parents were halfway around the world and unaware of her existence, much less her desire to spend Christmas with them.

"The castle is always beautiful then. I'm sure it will be wonderful." Daphne smiled at Hermione and the latter couldn't help noticing how kind her face was.

"What about you?" Hermione asked back politely.

"I'll be with my family until Christmas Eve, but I'm actually going to spend Christmas day with Anthony!" She smiled up at the handsome Ravenclaw next to her. "I'm meeting his parents. It's a bit nerve-wracking to be honest."

Anthony smiled at her and gave her a one-armed hug. "They will love you, Daph. Just as I do." He kissed her hair and Daphne gave him a small smile before they returned to their previous conversation with Blaise. 

"Staying at Hogwarts for the holidays sounds like a great idea!" Theo enthused. "Nott Manor has never been a great source of Christmas cheer. Although it would probably be better this year, to be honest."

"Isn't it still sitting empty?" Draco asked.

"Exactly," Theo shrugged. Theo's father had been in Azkaban since the end of the war and would probably be there for decades. Hermione knew he was an awful man, but realizing Theo would rather roam the dreary halls of his manor alone than spend the holidays with the man spoke volumes. Theo's resilience was incredible given the traumatic childhood he'd endured. Hermione took his hand and squeezed it, leaning into him. He smiled, lifted her chin with the fingers of his other hand, and kissed her softly.

"Make room in the common room for one more," Draco said, loudly enough to startle Hermione.

"Really? I thought Narcissa was planning to come in," Blaise interjected.

"Plans change," Draco replied flatly. Blaise knew him well enough to leave it alone.

The rest of their long lunch continued fairly smoothly, although Hermione did start to wonder what kind of break she would have with just Theo and Draco there for company. It seemed most of the other eighth years were headed home to spend time with family for the first peaceful Christmas in too many years.

As they all stood up to head back to Hogwarts, Daphne and Anthony struck out first, the latter waving to them all while the former gave everyone a kiss on each cheek, including Hermione.

Pansy, Neville, and Blaise left next, leaving Hermione, Theo, and Draco trailing behind. Hermione walked in the middle, sandwiched between her two taller peers.

As they followed the other trio back up the path, Draco leaned over Hermione to mutter to Theo, "Damnit, we still can't tell who Longbottom is with. When did he become so mysterious?"

Hermione thought Neville wasn't the only mysterious one these days and hoped things would be a little less strange by the holidays...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's a bit of filler and a bit of setup...thanks for hanging in there with me.
> 
> PS - your comments have been making my *life* right now! Thank you so much for all if the support! I hope I don't let you down!!! <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione is still a prefect, whether she wears the badge or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for another shorter chapter, but I think it'll make sense why when you read it. Maybe the more frequent updates will help earn me some forgiveness? :)

Chapter 5

Hermione had hoped to glide through the last few weeks of term and settle into her break in peace. Unfortunately, things were never that easy for the hard-working Gryffindor.

Despite the many changes at Hogwarts this year, old habits die hard.

On her way to Arithmancy, Hermione spied two third year Gryffindors near the staircases pushing around a first year Slytherin. The older students were significantly bigger and the younger one seemed too scared to respond.

The older students, especially those directly involved in the war, had been working hard to try and move past old prejudices - or at least put on a good show of it in public if they hadn't. Many of the younger ones, however, still often held on to the grievances their families had spouted their entire lives. The younger Slytherins knew the others resented them for their families' previous connections and tried to keep their heads down. Unfortunately there had been multiple instances of Slytherins being bullied by students from other houses. The staff attempted to dissuade this as best they could, but the castle was a big place and there always seemed to be a place away from their watchful eyes. The old prefect in Hermione had had enough.

"Back away from him!" she called. She knew things were escalating far too quickly. One of the older students had pulled out his wand and other appeared to be reaching for his too. She ran towards the group, hand in her pocket to grab her own wand. Instincts honed by months on the run kicked in as her sole focus became protecting the young wizard in front of her. 

She cast _Protego_ and a magical shield protected the young boy from a hex the other boy sent his way. The spell ricocheted brightly off the hastily cast shield, hitting Hermione in the chest. The momentum knocked her off balance and for a dizzyingly long second she watched the moving staircase coming closer and closer to the fifth floor landing's edge that she was rapidly approaching. She could tell the steps weren't coming fast enough. She held out her hands as if they could catch her after the two-story fall ahead of her. She closed her eyes, stomach churning. She flipped over the railing as it lowered to meet the staircase, just a few seconds too late.

Then she felt herself falling.

Then she felt pain. 

And then she felt nothing.  
___  
Wherever she had been was dark and peaceful. Warm and quiet. She could have stayed there a long time and maybe she did. She had no way of knowing. She didn't mind.

Now she was somewhere bright and loud and painful. Now she minded.

"Hermione? Is she coming around?" 

The voice was familiar and she knew it was connected to someone dark-haired and kind but that was not enough to counteract the chaos of this place. She wanted to go back.

She passed out again.  
___  
The next time it was darker. Maybe it was nighttime?

It was quieter too. People weren't yelling or rattling bottles or bumping into each other.

She was cold and alone. She reached down to try and find another blanket and groaned as pain jolted through her body. Her arm stung. Her head throbbed. Even her face hurt.

Maybe she wasn't alone. There was a pale ghost there. He'd been sitting on the next bed over but came forward when he heard her moan. Maybe they'd sent him to watch over her while Madam Pomfrey slept. He pulled a blanket over her and tucked it under her chin.

"It hurts," she whispered.

"Just rest now." Another kind, familiar voice. She liked it.

As she slipped away again, a vague thought occurred to her. 

Ghosts can't pick up blankets.  
___  
The third time she woke up was during the day again, but this time the light didn't pierce her eyes quite so harshly and the ambient noise of the room was a tolerable volume.

"Hermione?" It was the nice voice that had said her name before. 

She blinked her eyes until a pair of green ones came into focus above her.

"Theo?" She asked weakly.

"Hermione, oh thank Merlin. I'll go get Madam Pomfrey." He had been holding her hand and went to place it gently back on the bed to leave when she tugged him back. She knew he was only hesitating because she'd asked him to. She didn't have the strength to really hold him there.

"Theo, what happened?"

"Let me go get Madam Pomfrey and I'll explain everything."

"At least tell me how long I've been in here," she pleaded. 

"It's been almost five days," he whispered. "I'm so glad you're awake. I was so scared." He squeezed Hermione's hand again. "Okay, I'll be right back and after you've been checked out we'll talk. Promise."

Madam Pomfrey bustled in with her usual brisk manner, but Hermione could see the worry in her eyes. She ran her diagnostic spells and forced Hermione to take another strength potion before her expression eased. She continued her work as she spoke.

"You gave us quite a fright, Miss Granger, but everything is looking much better. I'd like you to spend one more night for observation, but if you look this well tomorrow you'll be free to return to the eighth year dorm." She smiled at the two teenagers and added, "Mr. Nott has barely left your side. I believe I'll be releasing you into good hands."

After the nurse left, Hermione turned her gaze back to Theo who looked a bit sheepish. "I wasn't here the _whole_ time. She made me go to classes and ran me out a few of the nights I snuck back in after curfew."

"Did you let anyone else take a turn to stay with me?" she asked with a smirk.

"Potter and Weasley have been in every day, of course. Neville stopped in and brought you that plant over there." He gestured to a tiny potted plant with pretty purple and teal flowers. She stopped him before he could continue.

"Ron's been coming?"

"Ah, no. I meant Ginny. Are you... disappointed?" He looked apprehensive.

"Actually, no." And she was relieved when she realized she was telling the truth. "Sorry for interrupting. Carry on," she added with a smile.

He grinned and continued, "Okay, well, Blaise and Pansy each stopped by once. And Daphne and Anthony. Oh, and Draco comes a couple times a day to make sure I eat sometimes." 

Hermione smiled at the thought that maybe the Slytherins we're warming up to her after all. At least enough to check on Theo.

Theo went on to explain that she'd broken most of the bones on her left side when she fell and gotten a fairly severe concussion. The head injury combined with whatever half-formed hex the Gryffindor had sent out had complicated her recovery, but Madam Pomfrey said her waking up lucid was a great sign. Hermione thought back through all of the information she'd just been given.

"Go back a minute. I've missed almost a week of studying before exams?" she asked, sounding alarmed.

"There's my girl. More worried about her grades than serious bodily harm," Theo joked affectionately. Hermione stuck her tongue out at him.

"Why don't you get some more rest?" he suggested. "You might be released tomorrow, but your body still has a good amount of healing to do."

Hermione had to agree that she felt exhausted and easily sunk back into her pillow. She smiled at him before snuggling down in her blankets and falling asleep. She felt him tuck a curl behind her ear and kiss her cheek before settling back into his chair.

A few hours later, she heard voices beside her bed but didn't have the energy to open her eyes. She was warm and comfortable and she figured if they really needed her, they'd wake her up.

"You should come down and grab something to eat. It'll be quick and you need to get up before your patronus becomes a slug."

Must be Malfoy. Theo said he was making him eat. She was glad someone was.

"Pomfrey said she might get released tomorrow. I'll be fine until then."

"We've been studying here for hours and you need more social interaction than me and Sleeping Beauty over there. You can bring her back a dessert or something if it'll make you feel better."

"How do you know Sleeping Beauty?"

"Mandatory Muggle Studies. With you, you bloody prat. That's beside the point. Come on, it will take twenty minutes. Thirty, tops."

"Okay, let's go. I want to try and get back before she wakes up."

There were footsteps and the door creaking open and shut. A few seconds later it opened again and a voice called out to someone in the hallway.

"I left my Charms textbook. I'll be right there."

More footsteps, coming back towards her.

A hand smoothing out her hair. Lips pressed against her forehead. A whisper.

"You're going to be the death of me and you don't even realize it." 

She heard something being picked up from a chair. Footsteps in the opposite direction. The door quietly clicking closed. Hermione fell deeper asleep again.

She roused long enough to briefly remember a fact before forgetting it again in her slumber.

Theo wasn't taking Charms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your comments are so, so appreciated. Thank you for continuing to read!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Party, party, party!
> 
> So I fell into the party trope and I'm a smidge sorry about it. But only a smidge. We needed some fluff and fun after the last chapter!
> 
> (There is some drinking if that bothers you...just FYI)

Chapter 6

"Are you sure you don't want to spend Christmas at the Burrow with us, Hermione?" 

Ginny had already asked, begged, pleaded, and demanded Hermione to reconsider, all with similar results. Even though she privately agreed with Hermione that the older girl's stay at the Burrow would only lead to pain and awkwardness with Ron, Ginny also hated being told no and had to try one last time on principle.

"No, Gin. Thank you, but not this year. I'll be fine! I love Hogwarts at the holidays and it's not like I'll be alone here."

Ginny bit her tongue about exactly who Hermione's company would be but finally, if not graciously, admitted defeat.

"Well, we should at least do something all together before everyone heads home," Ginny said. "Ooh...we could have a party! Seventh and eighth years only. Eighth year common room?"

"You're inviting yourself to an as yet unplanned party in our common room?" Hermione asked, unconvinced.

"Give me twenty-four hours."  
___  
It only took Ginny thirteen and a half hours to get Pansy Parkinson on board. With Pansy's experience, another two hours brought them not only food, drinks, and music, but they'd also had half of the guest list RSVP and set up a decorating committee.

"You two are a little scary together," Harry told his girlfriend the next evening at dinner. 

"I prefer efficient, synergistic, or amazing," she replied smugly. Harry looked physically pained by the effort it took to avoid rolling his eyes. Hermione just laughed.

"Okay, so we've talked to the elves about food and drinks. We've talked to some of the guys about other _drinks._ It's mostly eighth years, but that's fine. I've got the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs on board and Pansy took care of the Ravenclaws and Slytherins. No presents," she looked pointedly at Hermione. "And no egging on the Slytherins," she turned to look at Harry.

"Fine, fine. I'll play nice if they do," he grumbled.

"I'd expect nothing less," she said sweetly, patting his arm in support.  
___  
"So, are you going to that party Weaslette and Pans are apparently partnering together on?"

Hermione glanced up from her cauldron to see Malfoy watching her response. His question sounded casual, as if he were just making conversation, but his hand gripping the edge of the table suggested otherwise. He always channeled his nervous tension through his hands, whether by tapping his quill, running his hand through his hair, or - as in this case - holding onto the table as if Mcgonagall had transfigured it into a runaway unicorn. 

Or Hermione _assumed_ that's what he always did. Because she obviously hadn't watched him often enough to have determined anything. Three months ago. Definitely not. That would be ridiculous.

"Yeah, absolutely. Even if I didn't want to, I'm fairly certain Ginny would leave her wand and physically drag me from my room." Hermione chuckled to herself as she pictured her best friend's hypothetical expression of righteous indignation. "What about you?"

"I wouldn't dare miss a Pansy party. For one thing, she'd probably react like Weasley, though she'd never forget her wand. It'd be a full body bind for me while she levitated my body into the common room and smacked me against the walls a little bit on her way out. But in all honesty, she puts on a good party - and she's already got Blaise committed to bringing a ton of Firewhiskey." Hermione looked up to see Draco grinning at her. Instead of the sarcastic, mocking grin of their youth, this was a mischievous smile that Hermione couldn't help but return. 

"Goodness, I hope I can handle a 'Pansy party.'" Hermione laughed, hooking her fingers into quotation marks . "It sounds intense," she added as she opened her eyes wide and bit her lip in mock anxiety.

"You have no idea. Don't worry. I'll watch out for you. Protect you from those sneaky Slytherins and their party tricks."

"You mean, _you_ aren't one of the sneaky Slytherins I need to worry about?" she asked in an innocent tone.

"I never said I wasn't sneaky. Just that I'll keep you from the others." Before she could wonder at his wording, he winked at her. She tried not to pay attention to the odd feeling in her stomach that was almost certainly a coincidence.

She also decidedly didn't notice his hand had released the table. Or that his long fingers were moving hair out of his gray eyes. Or that his eyes sparkled with roguish delight at her question.

It was hard to imagine having a similar conversation with Malfoy even just a month earlier. After Hermione's fall, she'd been bothered from side effects of her concussion and spell combination. Madam Pomfrey had given her a potion to help with the nausea and double-vision she couldn't seem to shake. She had requested the recipe so she could make herself a supply to keep in her room and Theo had suggested Malfoy could help her with it given his affinity for Potions. Theo said he was worried her double-vision might affect her ability to get the somewhat volatile concoction finished safely. Malfoy agreed to help after Theo convinced him it would be good practice before their Potions exam. 

Draco and Hermione had been meeting every three or four days to make more as the potion didn't have a long shelf life. They'd both started these sessions a bit stiff and uneasy, not sure how they were supposed to act towards each other anymore. The longer they worked together, the more Hermione found that she had more in common with the blond than she would have expected. Their banter had moved from aggressive to amusing. Their silences became shorter and their conversation topics more expansive. She found herself unwittingly looking forward to their brewing sessions and wasn't exactly sure what to do with that information.

"Well, I'll look for you at the party whether I need a rescue party or not," Hermione joked as she began to gather her things to leave. She waved to him as she walked out the door. 

"I look forward to it, Granger," he said to the door once she'd gone.  
___  
"Do you guys need any help decorating?" Hermione was reading a book in a squashy armchair near the common room fireplace, watching as Pansy and some of her friends were starting to set up for the party. They'd started moving furniture around and hanging fairy lights on the walls. Pansy looked over at Hermione in her baggy jeans and oversized sweatshirt and raised her eyebrows.

"I think you need more help than we do. Is that seriously what you're wearing tonight?"

"What's wrong with it?" Hermione asked indignantly. "It's comfortable."

"Okay, I don't know if Gryffindor parties are just getting sloppy drunk and wrestling and rolling in the dirt or something but that outfit, if you can call it that, is not going to cut it tonight."

"Like Slytherins don't get sloppy drunk at their parties," Hermione huffed.

"Oh we might, but we look fucking fabulous while we do it. Come with me." Pansy grabbed Hermione's hand and dragged her from the common room while leaving instructions for her decorating crew to follow in her absence. She confidently entered Hermione's bedroom, opened her closet, and started digging through her clothes.

"Excuse me?" Hermione called out from her spot on the bed. "Ever heard of privacy?"

"I don't know, Granger. Have you ever heard of style? Or fit? Or wearing anything that doesn't make you look like a house elf?" She put her hands on her hips and stared at Hermione suspiciously. "You didn't actually give all of your nice clothes to the house elves in some weird freedom movement did you?"

"No! And I have nice things in here!" Hermione reached past Pansy to pull out a couple of dresses, a few tops, a skirt, and a pair of skinny jeans that she really liked. "Would any of these work?"

Pansy ran a critical eye over her selection. She threw a top and the skirt at Hermione, indicating she should try them on. She'd barely pulled the shirt over her head when she heard Pansy groan and felt the other girl yanking it back off of her.

"Ugh. Even magic can't fix that. Next!"

Pansy said the next top with the jeans was a possibility, but didn't seem overly enthused with the option. Finally, Pansy threw a sparkly blue dress at her.

"Hmm...maybe with a few alterations…" she mused, rubbing her chin. She started circling the Gryffindor girl and pulled out her wand. In very little time she'd shortened the hem a good six inches, removed the sleeves, deepened the v-neckline, and nearly erased the back.

"You've ruined my dress! I can't go out like this," Hermione gasped.

"It's not my fault you didn't have anything festive-"

"-slutty-" Hermione interrupted.

"-attractive-" Pansy countered.

"-scandalous-"

"-provocative-"

"-promiscuous-"

"...I'll allow it," Pansy conceded and waved her hands as if pushing the thought aside. "You didn't have anything appropriate-"

"-hardly-" Hermione scoffed.

"-for the party," Pansy continued, ignoring Hermione's continued interruptions. Hermione held up her hand to indicate a serious response.

"Can you please give me a little something back? A higher neckline? Sleeves even?"

Pansy sighed. "Fine." She waved her wand and the dress had long sleeves and showed slightly less cleavage. She continued casting and the dress was taken in to be nearly skin-tight and she changed the color from blue to green. "There. I think that's a fair trade. And it really needed to be a Christmas color for a Christmas party."

"Red is a Christmas color too," Hermione grumbled.

"Honestly," Pansy said conspiratorially, "I just want to watch his eyes bug out of his head when he sees you like this." She let out an almost evil chuckle.

"Who?" Hermione asked, confused.

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Smartest witch, my ass. I made your dress green…? Slytherin green?" 

"Oh, is this for Theo?" she asked, still sounding uncertain.

Pansy dropped her face to her palm and walked out.

"Sure, Granger. Whatever you say."  
___  
Hermione had been fairly accurate in describing Ginny’s reaction to her absence from the party. She’d spent the last twenty minutes trying to tame her hair and put on some light make-up to go with the dress Pansy had forced upon her. She was debating which shoes to wear when a redhead in tight black jeans and a halter top came into her room in a whirlwind.

“Where have you been? The party’s already started. Come on!”

“Ginny, the party just started ten minutes ago. I think it’s fine.”

Ginny slowed and took in Hermione’s outfit for the first time. “Where did you get that dress? It’s amazing! Is it new?”

“Pansy,” Hermione said, as if that explained everything. It did.

“Well, you can say what you want about her, but the girl’s got taste,” Ginny admitted. “Now come on!” She threw a pair of heels at Hermione, allowed her fifteen seconds to slip them on, and then dragged her out of the bedroom. 

She could hear the noise from the hallway. Pulsing music and the chatter of loud voices filled her ears. As she approached the common room door, she could see the lights were down and the place was lit exclusively by fairy lights, candles, and the large fireplace roaring along one side of the room. People already had drinks, some apparently on their second or third, and everyone was either talking or dancing or both. Hermione felt a rush of excitement. It had been so long since they’d had a chance to simply relax and let loose a little bit. 

Ginny had rushed off to find Harry again, leaving Hermione at the door looking around the room for her friends. Ginny had found Harry with Ron over to one side of the fireplace and was sitting in his lap in one of the large chairs spread around the room. She spotted Neville and Dean with Pansy, Blaise, and Parvati, watching Neville catch one of the six cups Seamus was trying - and failing - to bring over to the group. Daphne and Anthony were dancing in the middle of the room, surrounded by other students Hermione knew by sight if not by name. Everyone seemed to be having a great time.

Her eyes finally stopped on a pair near the drinks, a brunette and blond leaning back against the table and enjoying their beverages as they held a conversation. When Theo looked up and saw her, his face broke out into a bright grin and he waved her over. As Draco looked up to follow his gaze, Hermione could see his eyes widen as he threw back his drink and then immediately turned his back toward her and leaned with his arm on the table while he fixed another. Theo followed his friend’s actions, chuckled, and patted him on the shoulder as he left him to meet Hermione on her way through the room. When he reached her, he caught her in his arms and spun her around, surprising her into giggles.

“You look fabulous,” he said in her ear. “Want a drink?”

When Hermione agreed, he swept her over to the now empty drink table and waved his hand over the wide assortment of spirits he and his friends had been able to procure. 

“I’ve started on some Firewhiskey, but is there something you prefer?”

“She prefers shots!” a loud voice claimed over her shoulder. Ginny and Pansy had joined them, with Harry in the background looking far more sober than his girlfriend despite the party only having started a half hour prior.

Theo chuckled as Hermione’s ears turned red. “I wouldn’t say I prefer shots, because I hardly ever drink. I’m not really sure what I prefer. I’ll take whatever you think would be best.”

“Theo, you’d do shots with us, right?” Ginny asked, linking arms with him. Theo smiled down at her, agreeing readily. Harry pinched the bridge of his nose as if he hadn’t expected to be dealing with this quite so early. Pansy had left for a few moments and came back with Malfoy in tow, mirroring Ginny’s position with Theo.

“Draco, you’d like to see the Golden Girl try taking shots, wouldn’t you?” she smiled at him. The smile contained a hint of amusement and a whole lot of mischief. “This will be fun!” Draco’s pale skin took on a pink tinge as he looked anywhere but at his fellow partiers.

Pansy and Ginny let go of the boys in order to fix shot glasses for everyone and passed them around. They fixed a second set that they left on the table to follow the first. Hermione took hers with a sense of trepidation mixed with excitement. She had wanted to let loose after all.

“Three, two, one, go!” They all knocked back their first glass, Hermione coughing as it burned going down. Ginny, Pansy, and Theo laughed at her, though the latter did squeeze her shoulders in support before the girls handed out another round. 

“Again!” Hermione found the second one went down easier as her throat already felt like it was on fire anyway. She giggled along with the rest of them as Harry got himself a Butterbeer to wash down the whiskey and Draco watched her out of the corner of his eye.

“Let’s go dance!” Pansy called, taking Ginny by one hand and Theo by the other. Hermione hung back for a minute to drink some water and Draco tried to sneak away before Pansy realized he hadn’t followed.

“So... _you_ were going to save _me_ from Pansy?” Hermione teased before he got away.

He turned back to look at her, a smirk on his face as he remembered their earlier conversation. “I said I’d protect you from the sneaky ones. Pansy’s never claimed to be deceitful. Her manipulation is pretty above board.”

“Maybe so,” Hermione agreed. “Are you going to dance?” 

“I don’t know. Maybe later,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I think they’re waiting for you though.” He gestured towards the group where Theo was motioning for her to come join them.

“I’ll see you in a few?” She looked back at him before she reached the edge of the dancers.

“Yeah. Save a dance for me, Granger.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Party Part 2 coming soon! I was planning for this just to be one chapter, but again it's gotten away from me. I won't complain though...that just means more fun!
> 
> Thank you to everyone reading so far. I hope you keep enjoying. Your comments are keeping me writing (and are preventing me from having any self-control when it comes to posting :D)!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Party Party 2!
> 
> Dancing, games, embarrassing reveals.... What is a girl to do?
> 
> (And we are finally inching towards our rating so thanks for sticking with me there!)

Chapter 7

Hermione could feel the beat thrumming through her body as she joined her friends on the dance floor. Ginny grabbed her hand as they danced, people on all sides, music blaring in her ears. She laughed, joy filling her body as she moved to the rhythm. The shots had given her just enough courage to not care what anyone thought of her dancing abilities, or lack thereof. She just let the beat take her where it would and she followed, feeling more free than she had in years.

Ginny let go of her to pull Harry into the dancing. He had been rocking awkwardly to the music, but once Ginny had her hands on him he finally let loose. She was thrilled her friend was having a good time. They deserved to be carefree tonight.

She spun around and found Theo watching her with a heated gaze. Her breath hitched at the difference between now and his usual charmingly unaffected appearance. Most everyone was wearing Muggle-style clothes tonight, but Theo wore his long-sleeved henley shirt well, sleeves to his elbows highlighting strong forearms and broad shoulders that his robes usually downplayed. He moved closer to her and held her waist.

“I didn’t know you could dance like that,” he said, moving closer so she could hear him over the noise.

“I didn’t know I could either,” she joked in a self-deprecating way. She bit her lip and ran her hands up his arms to hold his shoulders. She had to admit that they felt as impressive as they looked.

They moved well together. Hermione could feel the beat coursing through both of them as they danced and she grew warm at the feeling of his hands on her. He always acted cool and collected when they were hanging out, but he seemed to be dropping his mask of control a bit tonight. She was enjoying seeing this other side of him and it honestly made her feel a bit powerful that the change was because of her.

He moved his hands further around her waist until they were almost to the small of her back, pulling her closer. She moved her hands up until she was cupping the back of his neck. His eyes grew darker as the green irises shrank into thin rings. He dropped his forehead to meet hers.

“You’re always beautiful, but Merlin’s beard, you look fucking amazing tonight,” he told her. 

She felt warm all over and gave him a shy smile. “You don’t look too bad yourself. You should thank Pansy, though. This is all her doing.”

“Remind me to send her a fruit basket.”

“You seem different tonight,” she admitted. “Not in a bad way. Just different.”

He broke his gaze from her for a moment before looking back, a little less sure of himself than before. “I guess it...it wasn't part of the plan. I didn't expect this to happen. With us, I mean. I never let myself believe that I’d get a chance at it. Tonight I've decided I'm gonna forget all the rest and just fucking go for it.”

He moved one hand to her hip and the other to the back of her head, threading his fingers in her curls and angling her face toward him. One of her hands moved to the nape of his neck, her lips parting in surprise and excitement. His hands felt hot where he touched her and his hair was so soft between her fingers. Sweet Circe, he really was handsome. They’d snogged a few times over the last few weeks, but it had felt more like a combination of boredom and hormones. It hadn’t felt like _this._

She was just about to close her eyes and move to her toes to reach him better when she felt him jerk and stand up straighter. Someone had clapped him on the shoulder from behind. Theo looked over to see Malfoy coming around to face them both.

“Hallo, mate. Do you mind if I cut in? You weren’t in the middle of anything, were you?” Draco asked, smiling a bit too widely.

“You’ve got eyes, you flipping tosser,” Theo muttered under his breath. 

Hermione’s eyes moved between the two young men who stood looking at each other while the crowd of people on all sides continued bobbing to the music, oblivious to the standoff right beside them. She slid her hands down Theo’s chest as he slowly released her. Finally, he mockingly bowed toward Malfoy and gestured for him to take his place. 

“By all means. I’ll go grab some drinks and I’ll be right back, Hermione,” he said, pulling her close and kissing her temple. He raised his eyebrow at Malfoy over her head, challenging him to respond, but the blond ignored him, eyes now focused entirely on Hermione.

She didn't realize she'd been holding her breath until Theo disappeared back into the crowd and she let it out in a rush. She turned back to Malfoy whose eyes gleamed with an expression she couldn't define.

"May I have this dance, Granger?" He held out his hand and gave her his most charming smile.

"Bit late to be asking me isn't it?" she asked, lifting her eyebrows. "But as you've run off my other dance partner, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to give you this one." She smirked at him to soften the accusation. He had the grace to look mildly apologetic.

"I didn't really mean to frighten him off," he said, placing his hands gently on her waist as if worried she might break.

"I'm not sure Theo scares quite so easily," she said as she took his shoulders and eyed him appraisingly.

It was hard to avoid comparing the two boys she'd split her evening with so far. Both Theo and Draco were tall and handsome. Both toned but not bulky. Both intelligent and witty.

But where Theo was filled with colorful warmth - all shades of brown in his hair, tan skin, long dark eyelashes, and deep green eyes, Draco was muted ice - pale muscle with white blond hair, staring her down with silver eyes so intense she could barely break away from them. 

"No, I suppose he doesn't," Draco murmured, eyes flicking back to the spot where Theo had vanished before returning to Hermione. "But surely I should have sent _you_ running for the hills, right?"

"Gryffindor, remember? It'll take more than a pretty face to scare me away." Hermione's ears grew hot and she realized maybe the shots were affecting her more than she originally thought.

Draco hummed curiously at her and smirked his famous smirk. 

"Shut up. It's a statement of fact. You know it. I know it. The giant squid probably knows it," Hermione started rambling.

"Oh, she does."

"Godric's gods-forsaken sword," she grumbled, gritting her teeth. "You are insufferable."

"And pretty," Draco grinned back at her.

By this point in the conversation, Hermione had slid her hands to the front of his t-shirt and balled her fists in the fabric. She wasn't sure if she wanted to shake the life out of him or pull him closer. His eyes had grown as black as the shirt she was grasping.

She managed to finally let out a frustrated groan and playfully push his chest as Theo came back with drinks.

"My lady," he grinned as he handed her a fruity looking cocktail. He'd managed to regain his calm, collected manner while he was gone. "Blaise made it. You'll love it. And for you, Draco," he added, handing him a glass of whiskey and maneuvering himself in between the pair. He was holding his own glass in one hand and threw his other around Hermione's shoulders.

"Want to take a breather? Potter and Weasley found a spot over there," he motioned with his glass to the opposite side of the room.

"Sounds good," Hermione agreed.

"I think Pansy was looking for you, Draco," Theo said, nodding his head in the opposite direction. Draco nodded to them both and headed in the direction Theo had indicated.

He wasn't overly surprised when Pansy wasn't there.  
___  
The crowd was beginning to thin out. People grew sleepy or were pairing off and heading to more private locations. A few didn't bother moving until the collective groans from their unwilling audience members sent them down the halls to the dorms.

A smaller group, however, wasn't ready for the night to end. Hermione and Theo, Ginny and Harry, Daphne and Anthony, Blaise, Neville, Pansy, Luna, Ron, and a few of their other friends were gathered together, squashed into overstuffed armchairs and extra long couches. They'd brought over the extra bottles of booze and were planning their next activity.

"Spin the bottle!" said Pansy.

"Nope. Stupid," answered Blaise. "Half of us have already snogged anyway."

"Never have I ever?" suggested Dean.

Theo piped up, "It would be too short. Between Blaise and Pansy, they tried just about everything people would ask about." The two Slytherins in question grinned at each other and high fived.

"We could do a sort of trivia game," Neville suggested. "We partner up, take turns asking questions about the group. If you get it wrong you drink."

"Hmm...kind of a group Truth or Dare? I like it," said Ginny. The group agreed with nods and smiles as Pansy reached for an empty scotch bottle.

"We can at least spin for partners!"  
___  
The teams ended up fairly balanced with people from different houses. Theo got Ginny, Harry was with Luna, Ron with Pansy, and so on. After all of the other partnerships were made, Hermione ended up with Draco. 

"We meet again, eh Granger?" He walked over to her place on the couch and sat down beside her. Even though they had stretched the couches to accommodate more people, it was a tight fit and Hermione could feel his entire body pressed up against hers. The feeling preoccupied her to the point she missed the first question entirely.

"What do you think, Granger? Who's had the most to drink tonight?" His head was close to hers whispering. She saw the other partnerships around the room doing the same.

"Oh, um... probably Ginny honestly. Her tolerance is astronomical for her size."

"I bow to your expertise," Draco responded cheekily. This was going to be a long game.

Draco jotted their answer on a piece of parchment that Neville had charmed. It was a spell they used on wizarding game shows to impartially determine correct answers. He said his gran loved to watch them so he became the unexpectedly perfect host.

"Okay and the winners are…" Harry and Luna had a green ball of light pop up over their heads. Everyone else was red.

"It's Luna!" said Neville, as the answer appeared on a section of wall they charmed as an answer board. 

"That actually kind of makes sense," muttered Draco as he, Hermione, and the rest took a drink.

"Next question's mine!" Seamus stood up from his seat next to Daphne. "Which three of us have slept with the most people?"

"Godric help us, this turned early." Hermione said, smacking her forehead lightly with her palm. "It usually takes him a couple rounds before he turns sexual."

"How long does it take you to turn sexual, Granger," Draco said in a low voice that Hermione wished she didn't enjoy so much. She elbowed him before redirecting him to the question asked.

"Pansy and Blaise, definitely," Draco began. "Probably Weasley now since he's gone on his...," Draco stopped and looked contritely at Hermione. "I shouldn't have brought it up. I'm sorry." He really looked it.

Hermione waved it off. "It's okay. I think we are past that now." Draco watched her thoughtfully as she continued. "But I think you've got the wrong Gryffindor." She grinned wickedly. "That would be Neville."

Draco's eyes widened in shock. "Longbottom? Are you serious?"

"He's really grown into himself," Hermione shrugged. "He's got the always popular 'boy next door' vibe in public, but if rumors are true that ends at the bedroom door. And everybody loves a war hero."

"I wouldn't know," he answered dryly. 

Hermione's cheeks heated. "We're quite a pair, putting our feet in our mouths."

"It's fine…" he began as Neville stepped up to reveal the answers.

Their light turned green along with one or two others as the wall revealed, "Pansy - 15, Blaise - 14.5, Neville - 14.5," to the confusion of many.

"How in Circe's name do you get a half?" Seamus asked.

Neville and Blaise exchanged pointed looks before Blaise lifted a shoulder and easily replied, "we got interrupted." A few people spit out their drinks and Hermione and Draco both cackled.

They went a few more rounds, learning more random and unusual facts about their friends. Dean played the flute. Luna was learning to become an Animagus. After the "strangest place someone's ever had sex" question, Hermione tuned out Ginny's bizarrely detailed explanation of how you could do that, oh and _that_ , on brooms. 

"Well, actually gravity helps a little bit with…." Draco began, gesturing with his hands, before Hermione covered his mouth with her hand, ears flaming. 

"Nope. Nope. I do not need to hear you explain," she insisted. She wasn't sure she could handle Malfoy's low voice explaining anything of the sort without combusting, but she didn't need him to know that.

"If you don't move your hand, I'll make you," he muttered in a muffled tone.

Hermione's stubborn competitive streak couldn't back down from a challenge. "How will you do that?"

His eyes narrowed. Her hand felt weird. Warm. Wet. She jerked back.

"Merlin, Malfoy! Did you just lick me?" she said, a bit too loudly. The room went quiet. Eyes turned their way. Theo's brow furrowed. Draco looked up at her, gobsmacked, face turning pink.

"Not like that!" She stood up, nearly shouting and trying to explain what happened.

"Not like what, Granger?" Blaise asked smoothly. His grin revealed just how hilarious he found this turn of events.

"No, not...it was just…"

"She had her hand over my mouth. I thought I might asphyxiate." Draco had finally recovered. "It was merely my self-preservation instinct. Come back, Granger. Let's finish the game." She felt his hand circle her wrist and gently tug her down.

Hermione huffed and sat back down. Everyone else seemed satisfied with Malfoy's explanation, but Theo still watched them from his place next to Ginny, mouth twisted in deep consideration.  
___  
"For the sake of our livers, can we change the penalty for wrong answers?" Harry asked a bit later. 

"What are you thinking, Potter?" Pansy asked.

"Dares are always a classic. Let's do some challenges or something."

"Typical Gryffindor," Blaise murmured.

Everyone agreed and wrote a few ideas for dares on their spelled parchment for it to pick out choices as needed. Daphne and Anthony left the game once they and Ginny and Theo were required to strip down to their underwear for not knowing about Seamus's old crush on Professor Mcgonagall ("I like a powerful woman," he unabashedly explained), though Hermione suspected they didn't leave out of embarrassment. Harry was half aroused by his nearly unclothed girlfriend and half protective, tearing his gaze away from her long enough to glare at any other male trying to do the same. 

Hermione was watching Theo. The way he pulled his shirt over his head with one hand ignited a warm tingle below her stomach. Or it might have been the way his deep green eyes bore into her brown ones as he did it. She couldn't say whether or not Draco's arm tightening as he balled his fists, allowing her to feel every muscle shoulder to wrist, affected her as well. At least not out loud.

The final round made Hermione think she'd stayed in one too long. The question itself wasn't a bother (apparently Parvati and Padma's parents owned an apothecary that supplied St. Mungo's directly), but the dare incurred by Hermione, Draco, Theo, Ginny, Harry, and Luna after their incorrect answers was.

Neville cleared his throat to read out the final dare and his face grew red. "Kiss the last person here that you...fantasized about in a...carnal way?" Hermione could tell he was trying to reword what was written and a few people exchanged looks.

"Snog the last person you wanked to," Blaise piped in. 

"Thank you, Blaise, for your incomparable poise and eloquence," Theo said. "But I think we all got that."

Hermione tried to work out the exact probability of the floor swallowing her up at that moment and gulped hard at the odds. She flashed back to a stress relieving night earlier in the week where her fictitious partner kept shifting between hot and cold, dark and light, brunette and blond. Her stomach felt like a pixie infestation as she viewed the others' responses. 

Harry and Ginny laughed and launched themselves at each other, providing everyone with far more insight into said fantasies than anyone had asked for. They excused themselves soon after, barely pausing their activities to make it through the door.

Luna surprised everyone by flitting around the room and kissing Blaise, Neville, Draco, and Padma squarely on the mouth.

"It only had to be the most recent time, Luna," Pansy chimed in.

"They were the most recent time," Luna said, unblinkingly.

Theo stood up, with a somewhat shy look on his face. He bit the side of his lip, approached Hermione's spot on the couch and placed a gentle hand on the back of her neck, pulling her into a soft kiss. As he pulled away, Hermione pulled him back in, feeling the warm skin of his shoulders against her hands.

"I have to kiss you too," she said, face pink. She kissed Theo again and he looked quite pleased with himself as he returned to his seat. 

Hermione's face was now flaming red. She stood up and gave Theo an apologetic look, then leaned over and gave Malfoy a quick kiss on the cheek. The room went quiet and more than one person gaped openly at her double reveal. Draco looked at her blankly for a moment before wrapping a hand around her waist and pulling her back to him, causing her to fall in his lap.

"Me too," she heard his voice low in her ear, nearly a growl, before feeling his mouth on hers. She felt his mouth open, encouraging her to follow his lead. She deepened the kiss before hearing a gasp from behind her, snapping her brain out of the temporary fog he'd brought on. She realized where she was, what was happening, and rapidly raced out of the room, excusing herself and wishing everyone a good night as she went.

When she reached her bedroom, she locked the door and leaned against it, sliding down to the floor and touching her lips where the two handsome Slytherins had just finished kissing her. Her brain raced at the thought of the three of them spending the next two weeks together without the rest of their friends as buffers or distractions. She had no idea what to expect.

This was going to be a very interesting Christmas break indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are love! Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to share your thoughts so far!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione tries to figure out what she's feeling. The boys don't help. But they don't hurt either...

Chapter 8

Hermione relished the feeling of sleeping in on the first day of winter break. She yawned as she gradually gained consciousness, half-formed dreams quickly forgotten. She stretched luxuriously in her four poster bed. She slowly opened her eyes to the bright morning sun, reflecting off the newly fallen snow from the night before. 

The night before.

Oh Helga, Rowena, and Godric himself. 

Might as well add in Salazar given the circumstances.

Hermione sat up straight as the events from the night before flashed before her eyes.

The dancing. The flirting. The game. The kiss...

...-es. Kisses. Plural. Oh Merlin.

She buried her face in her hands as she remembered not only kissing Theo and Draco, but also admitting in front of everyone that she'd fantasized about them both. At the same time.

Hermione decided to spend the entire first day of break in her room. She asked the house elves if they could bring her food and drink and they thankfully obliged. She read and practiced spells for fun instead of lessons. She attempted to not die of embarrassment. She started knitting a new scarf. 

The second day, she was beginning to find her bedroom a bit stifling and small. She went down to breakfast as early as possible, grabbed enough food to eat for breakfast, lunch, and a snack, and left with her haul for the library. She took a seat in the Muggle Studies section as she rarely went there during term and hoped no one would look for her there. She cast a notice-me-not and peeked around stacks before going to retrieve more books. She survived another day without melting into the stones of the castle from shame.

The third day, she realized she _might_ be overreacting. She had finished her scarf by lunchtime and decided to go for a mid-afternoon walk on the grounds. It had been snowing off and on for the last three days and Hermione was enjoying the quiet and solitude on the trail around the lake when the flakes began softly falling again.

She passed Hagrid's cabin, silent as Hagrid had gone to visit friends at a nearby Hippogriff sanctuary. She circled near the Forbidden Forest, marveling at the way the snow clung to the branches of the trees. She passed by the Quidditch pitch and started for the path leading from the field back to the castle. The snow had been steadily transitioning from a light dusting to an insistent blanketing. Before she reached the trail, her solitude was broken.

She ran, quite literally, into Malfoy. He was leaving the pitch with his broom in his hand and a long black cloak whipping around him in the wind. His head was down, trying to keep the snow from his face. Hermione had her arm in front of her own for the same reason. Neither one noticed the other until Hermione bumped Draco's side hard enough to make them both sway off balance. Draco's reflexes kicked in more quickly than Hermione's, and he grabbed her to keep them both standing.

Hermione felt her whole body rise in temperature, despite the worsening snowstorm around them. Draco held her arm longer than was strictly necessary for stability purposes, but she couldn't bring herself to comment on it. 

"Granger? You should get inside. It's turning into a bad one out here." Hermione could tell Draco was trying to speak up but his voice was being carried away by the wind. She nodded back to him, shivering and shoving her gloved hands into her pockets. Halfway back to the castle he noticed her continued shaking and threw an arm around her shoulders. She didn't complain.

"We sh-should get up to the tower and g-get out of these w-wet clothes." Hermione's teeth chattered as they entered the warmth of the castle. She started peeling off her soaked gloves and hat.

"Trying to get me undressed, Granger?" Malfoy smirked down and her as she flushed, cheeks turning red enough to match her frozen nose. 

She flashed him an irritated glare and turned her back to him. Hermione was trying to avoid frostbite and Malfoy was teasing her. She set off for the eighth year dorms without a look behind her, heart pounding. Maybe she really should have continued hiding out.

Malfoy's long legs easily outpaced her and he caught up before she could open the common room door. 

"Granger, wait. Come back."

Hermione stopped but didn't turn around to face him. She waited for him to continue.

"I didn't mean to embarrass you. I didn't...I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable. Here, you left before I could do this." Malfoy pulled out his wand and dried their clothes. He also cast a warming charm, making Hermione's muscles relax from where they'd been pulled tight shivering. 

She slowly turned around, realizing he was much closer then she'd originally guessed. His face was open, searching. His mouth was twisted to the side and he was biting the inside of his cheek. He was nervous too.

Hermione crossed her arms, trying to maintain an air of moral superiority, but she was distracted by the honesty and intensity she found in his eyes. Malfoy's warming charm must have been strong because suddenly she felt hot enough to melt any residual snow with ease.

She saw his hand twitch at his side. She watched as he slowly raised it, getting closer without startling her, giving her a chance to stop him or back away. He ran his fingers halfway down the length of an errant curl and then tucked it behind her ear. 

His fingers followed the curve of her ear around to trace her jawline. He rested his hand on his cheek and Hermione's skin tingled along the path his fingers had followed. His thumb swept across her cheekbone and she focused on continuing to breathe. Had it always taken so much effort to remember how?

When he spoke, his voice was nearly half an octave lower than usual. "We should probably go get changed. Warm shower or something." Hermione absolutely didn't choke over the thought of Malfoy following his own advice. She definitely wasn't trying to picture what the water would look like running down his Quidditch-toned body as hot steam rose from a shower stall. She certainly didn't lean into the hand he continued to hold her face with. At least, not on purpose.

"I think you're probably right. It was pretty cold out there. We need to heat up. I mean...warm up." She watched his pupils widen as she spoke. But that was probably just from the lighting change moving outside to inside. Or an illusion caused by his face moving closer to her own. Or hers towards his. She might have had a better time determining which direction was correct if her brain was in any way, shape, or form part of this conversation anymore. It wasn't.

Her eyelashes were just any to flutter closed when a sound came from the opposite side of the common room door. They jumped apart, both looking a bit dazed. The door opened.

"Hermione? Draco? Were you outside in this? It looks awful out there," Theo said, standing aside and holding the door open for them to enter. "Merlin, it really must be cold. Both of your faces are red from the wind." 

"Yeah, it came on fast," Draco murmured. Hermione nodded.

"Where have you been hiding, Hermione?" Theo asked as Draco headed for the boys' hall. "I've missed you the last couple of days." Theo's voice was like a soft, heavy blanket, shaking away any remaining chill and steadying her nerves. She had missed him too and been too wrapped up hiding from him in her embarrassment to realize he might have supported her instead.

"Just trying to get my head on straight, I guess," she said as he walked her to her hallway entrance. 

"Is this about what happened at the party? It's okay. Really. We can talk about it later. Or not, if you don't want to. You look frozen. Why don't you go get warm and we can eat supper together?"

Hermione nodded again and made her way to her room. She tried to let the warm water from her shower wash away the confusion and chaos in her brain, but she wasn't sure there was even enough water in the lake for that.  
___  
Hermione made her way to the Great Hall for dinner - her first meal there at a normal hour since the beginning of break. It was still fairly empty as few people elected to stay at Hogwarts for the holidays this year. Those who were left were mingling between tables, taking the opportunity to sit with friends they rarely were able to. She was just pouring herself a drink when Theo swung into the seat beside her.

"Hello, little hermit," he said fondly. "So nice to see you out and about among the living again. Your books have had great company over the last few days, but the rest of us were starting to get jealous." He bumped her shoulder and smiled, letting her know he wasn't really upset.

She smiled a bit shyly at him and worked to move her hair out of her face to see him better and to put off responding.

"I know. It's just…"

He waved her off. "I get it. I meant what I said before about the party stuff too. It's all fine and we can talk about it or not. It's up to you."

Hermione's smile grew and the tightness in her chest eased. Theo always knew what to say. Why had she been avoiding him all this time?

"I think I'd like to talk about it. But not now," she said. "I want to keep my appetite and I'll be too nervous if we try now."

"Do I make you nervous, Hermione?" Theo asked. "You don't need to be with me. Unless it's a good nervous." He wiggled his eyebrows at her like he'd done in the past to indicate his facetiousness. Hermione wouldn't normally have characterized nervousness as good in any situation, but the butterflies she now felt in her stomach said otherwise. 

He decided to go easy on her and started asking about the books she'd been reading since classes ended. She explained some of the new Charms she'd found that weren't taught as part of the regular curriculum and Theo's additional knowledge added three new books to her must-read list. By the end of supper, her list was up to seven.

They slowly made their way back to the common room, talking about everything and nothing all at once. She told him about Muggle primary school. He explained why Exploding Snap was the superior card game over all others. She confessed her fear of flying wasn't of heights but of falling - she had no problem being on the Astronomy Tower, for example. He described the massive overhaul he wanted to do to Nott Manor after graduation. He wanted to create an entirely different atmosphere than the one in which he'd grown up - one Hermione could barely understand given how kind and thoughtful Theo was to her.

Hermione and Theo found comfortable seats near the fireplace in the common room, Hermione with her feet curled beside her on a loveseat, Theo in the armchair perpendicular to her. He leaned forward resting his forearms on his thighs and looked intently at Hermione.

"Should we address the giant in the room?"

Hermione bit her lip. "Where would you like to start?"

"Though there are a few points of interest for me, let’s start with what sent our resident Gryffindor lioness into hiding for the last few days?”

She sighed. “I thought you might want to start there.” She held a throw pillow against her chest as a shield and stared into the fire as she collected her thoughts. She took another deep breath before she continued. “I was embarrassed.”

“By what?” Theo asked, eyes filled with genuine curiosity mixed with a dash of confusion. He acted as if he had no idea what could have made her feel that way when to her, it was obvious.

“The fact that everyone knows, including you, that I fantasized about you. _And_ Malfoy. While I...you know.” She dropped her eyes from his, looking back into the fire as if hoping it could finish this conversation for her.

Theo reached out and squeezed her hand. “Hermione, love. First of all, I quite enjoyed finding out that piece of information, at least about myself. In fact, I’d love to hear all the details if it were ever something you were interested in sharing.” Hermione looked up and he grinned shamelessly, eyes crinkling in the corners. She bit back a smile. 

“Second, fantasies are just that. Fantasies. Not real. It’s a time for people’s minds to explore all of the things they never thought they could try in real life. And even if you wanted it to be real, I can assure you that that is nowhere near the weirdest I’ve ever heard.” Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what he was referring to. “I lived with Blaise through the entirety of our adolescence and he is not known for being bashful, quiet, nor conventional.”

Hermione had to laugh at his half-amused, half-disgusted expression. “That’s fair.” She played with the edging of the pillow before she continued. “I also didn’t want to hurt your feelings. And then he kissed me and…”

Theo’s grin turned to a crooked half-smile as he interrupted her. “Don’t worry about that. I told you this could be whatever you wanted it to be and I stand by that. We’ve never said that we were exclusive or even really given what we have a name at all. And if you want me to step aside so you can give it a try with Draco alone then that’s what I’ll do.” He looked down at his shoes for a moment before staring back at her, his eyes holding hers and sending a current of electricity down her spine. “If that’s what you want, though, please tell me now. I don’t mind having something open, but I also don’t want you to keep spending time with me out of obligation or fear that you’re going to hurt my feelings. It would hurt worse to find out later that it wasn’t real.”

Hermione’s heart lurched at the thought of hurting Theo. And of losing him.

“Total honesty?” she asked. He nodded, steeling himself for the worst. “Honestly, I want to spend time with you. Honestly, I think you’re smart and funny and handsome…” She blushed a bit at the last part but pressed on. “Honestly, I can’t say that I’m ready to start some exclusive monogamous relationship with you or Malfoy or anybody right now. But what I do feel for you isn't an obligation. It isn’t a forced choice. It isn’t trying to make you feel better. It just...is. I like what we have. I like where we’ve been going. And if you’re still willing to go with me, I’d like to see where else it can take us.” She gasped for air as she’d forced the words out as quickly as possible without stopping. She saw Theo inhale quickly as well, eyes burning.

“Well, that brings me to my other point of interest,” he said, voice sounding different than before. “When we were dancing...I really wanted to kiss you. And I thought you might really want to kiss me too. Was I wrong?” Hermione remembered the look Theo had given her the night of the party and saw it again on his face now. A look of heat and hunger and hope.

“No,” Hermione breathed. “You weren’t wrong.”

Theo launched himself out of his seat and over to the loveseat beside Hermione. He took her face gently in both of his hands. 

“Do you still want to?”

“Yes,” she whispered, throwing her arms around his neck as he dove in and pressed his lips against hers. His mouth moved with hers the same way they’d danced together - a single rhythm traveling through two bodies. His tongue swept against her lips. A question. She answered. The kiss deepened and Hermione hummed in approval.

Her fingers tangled in his hair as his hands dropped to her waist. He ran them down her sides and dipped his thumb under the hem of her shirt. His lips left her mouth and traveled down her jaw to her ear.

“Okay?” he asked, slipping another finger under her shirt. She nodded and his hand moved to hold her waist, feeling hot against her skin. His other hand moved her shirt up and his thumb traced her bottom rib, gradually drifting higher. He hesitated when he reached the edge of her bra.

“Keep going,” she urged as his mouth continued down her neck. Theo groaned at her direction. Hermione started unbuttoning his shirt, hands shaking no longer with nerves but with longing. He ran his thumb under the edge of her bra around to her back, unhooking the impeding garment with one hand. She would have been impressed had she been able to think that clearly.

She finally succeeded in her task and opened his shirt up to reveal his torso, just as toned and tempting as it had been when she’d seen it displayed at the party. She ran her hands over his chest and he moaned against her neck.

“Fuck, Hermione. You drive me crazy. Do you know that?”

Her brain was fuzzy. How was she driving him crazy? Didn’t he know what his hand was doing to her, cupping her like that? Rubbing her right there?

“Theo,” she sighed, a whine in her tone. “Theo...what the hell?” She yelled the last part as she nearly fell off of the loveseat, startled by the loud bang that came from across the room. They both looked over the back of the couch to see an owl banging against the common room window, looking disgruntled as if he’d been trying to get their attention for awhile.

Theo let out an exasperated grunt as he got up and collected the letter from the owl who hooted at him and flew off. Hermione tried to pull herself back together and tried not to watch Theo’s return, shirt still hanging open enticingly.

“It’s from Potter. Merlin knows his timing could use improvement.” Theo tossed her the letter and ran his fingers through his hair. Hermione thought it only improved the overall effect. He looked thoroughly snogged and entirely fuckable. 

Hermione shook her head. Where in Merlin’s name had that come from?

“I..um. I think I’ll go read this. In my room,” Hermione choked out.

“Yeah. I uh...I hope all is well with your friends. I’ll see you in the morning?” He sounded as muddled as she did.

“Sounds good. Good night, Theo.” She turned to leave the room. He caught her wrist and turned her around to kiss her softly on the forehead.

“Good night, Hermione. See you tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this story and these characters have taken me so far off where I thought I was going, but I'm loving the ride. I hope you are too. 
> 
> Comments are love. Thanks to everyone who keeps reading!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas time is here! Happiness and cheer! Sort of. Halfway. We start a bit sad actually but end much better ;)

Chapter 9

Christmas Eve brought Hermione a new sense of cheer and excitement for the holiday at hand. She'd gotten distracted by the two boys she was sharing the tower with and wanted to refocus on what used to be her favorite day of the year.

Her presents were already prepared for delivery. They should appear under all of their recipients' Christmas trees early tomorrow morning. Now she wanted to indulge in some of her family's favorite traditions. She may not be able to spend the day with her parents, but she could still feel close to them through the activities they'd shared throughout her childhood.

Hermione started with a visit to the kitchens. The elves were excited to have a visitor and eager to assist her in finding all of the ingredients she needed. She started with desserts - thumbprint cookies filled with jams and preserves (strawberry for her mother and blueberry for her and her father), homemade soft mints decorated individually with fork imprints, and homemade gingerbread using freshly ground cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg along with the obligatory ginger. Then she moved on to beverages - Russian tea, wassail, hot chocolate - more than she could ever drink alone. 

The elves helped her transport her creations back to the eighth year common room, stasis charms in place to keep everything the perfect temperature, even if it took days to finish off. Hermione's eyes teared up imagining the look on her father's face as he tried to sneak a mint from it's container and her mother swatting him away with a smile. She hoped that somehow they were enjoying the same recipes even if they couldn't share the memories.

She settled into a plush sofa, nearly sinking away into its cushions, and opened her copy of Dickens's _A Christmas Carol._ It was a story her parents had shared with her, first through the many Muggle television versions and then through the classic literature. She nibbled at a cookie and fell entranced into the cautionary tale of greedy Mr. Scrooge and his journeys through time.

"Something smells divine!" A voice broke through Hermione's reverie, interrupting the Ghost of Christmas Past. She looked around and spotted Theo following his nose to her corner of the common room, Draco following in his wake. 

"What have you been up to Miss Granger?" Theo asked, leaning over the back of her chair and spying the goodies she'd spent her morning baking. "Did you receive a care package from home? Parents missing their little witch?" He smiled at her but his expression quickly faltered when Draco elbowed him and gestured towards Hermione's watering eyes.

"Granger? Are you...what's wrong?" Draco stumbled over his words, struggling between reaching towards her to comfort her and hanging back so as not to make her uncomfortable. He settled for sitting on the coffee table in front of her, closer than a different seat would have been but not touching her. 

Theo had no qualms about proximity. He sat on the arm of her chair and began rubbing her back to calm her as tears threatened to spill out and she sniffled quietly. He traded glances with Draco, both looking confused and unsure of what to do.

"Hermione? Love? What's wrong?" Theo asked in a gentle voice. She refused to lift her gaze from the floor, knowing if she saw the concern in their eyes her control would dissolve.

"I went down to the kitchens this morning," she began in a tight voice. "I made some of my parents' favorite Christmas treats since I can't spend the holidays with them anymore."

"Why can't you?" Theo continued. Draco took a more passive role, assuming Theo was probably the more comforting figure of the two of them. His hands were in fists on his knees to try and keep from holding Hermione's.

"They're in Australia." Her voice sounded flat.

"Okay. Well, this year might be tough, but maybe next year when you're out of school you can arrange an international Portkey. Or those Muggle planes even."

"I won't be visiting. And they have no reason to come back here." Hermione's voice wavered. "At least no reason they remember. I...I obliviated them. To protect them during the war. I took away all of their memories of me. Sixteen years' worth of time. They don't know they have a daughter. They aren't even the same people anymore with that much of their life erased and replaced with false memories to fill the time. I'll never…" her voice broke completely, tears started rolling down her cheeks. "I'll never see them again."

At this Hermione stood quickly and rushed out of the room, avoiding both of their faces and trying to hide her own. She ran down the girls' hallway and they heard a door shut sharply. Theo and Draco stared at each other dumbstruck. Hermione threw herself in her bed and sobbed.  
___  
A little while later, Hermione heard a soft knock on her door. She ignored it and buried herself under her covers as if she could vanish underneath them. The knocking returned more insistently. She closed her eyes hoping the person would leave. They didn't.

"Granger? Open up." The knocking was followed by her door knob rattling. "Unlock the door or I'll let myself in, Granger. You can't lock yourself away all Christmas."

"Watch me," she muttered under her breath, but she did whisper the charm to unlock her room. The last thing she needed was an overbearing Slytherin breaking and entering.

Hermione was laying with her back to the door, covers up to her ears, and her eyes resolutely closed. Maybe if she couldn't see him, he wasn't really there. She felt her mattress shift with the weight of someone sitting down on the edge. So much for that theory.

"Granger." A slight shift in position. A deep breath. "Hermione?" She stiffened slightly as she felt a hand tentatively touch her shoulder, then relaxed before the fingers could pull away. She let the blankets fall to her shoulder but kept her back turned and eyes shut.

"I know you'd probably rather Theo was here," Malfoy started hesitantly, "but we both agreed that he doesn't have much experience in this area."

Hermione turned her head just enough to peek over her shoulder and spy a head of blond hair and a tiny smile as she acknowledged his presence.

"What area does he not have experience in?" she whispered.

"Family." Draco said it matter-of-factly, watching her face for reactions. "Theo spent most of his childhood wishing his father would forget he existed, so he is probably not the best to empathize with your situation. And he spent over half of his Christmases with my family, so the Notts don't really have holiday traditions of their own."

"I don't understand," Hermione admitted. "Why didn't he spend Christmas with his own family?"

Draco chuckled darkly. "Let's just say old Theodore Senior makes Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy look like paragons of virtue. Big old teddy bears."

Hermione just stared at him, wide-eyed.

"I'll be the first to admit that my family did horrible things. But they always cared about family. There was love there, even if it didn't look like cookies and milk and hugs and rainbows. They were misguided, bigoted, scared for their safety. All of the above. Theo's father is just a fucking psycho. He did what he did because he enjoys it." Draco looked a bit sick thinking about it. "And Theo would be the first to say that, so don't think I'm talking bad behind his back," he added. "But this isn't about Theo and his nightmare of a childhood. This is about you. Now talk to me. Please?"

Hermione turned to face him, propping herself up on some pillows. She fiddled with the edge of her blanket while she spoke.

"I miss them so much. My parents. I didn't want them tortured by someone trying to find me and I couldn't think of a better way to prevent that." Draco nodded in understanding. "It's just harder at Christmas. That's why I made all of our favorite things. I'm the only one with those memories now, so the traditions will die if I don't continue them."

Draco scooted closer to her and leaned forward to brush her hair back against the pillow and out of her face. 

"Let us help you. We can share some of your traditions together. Then it won't be your burden alone." 

Hermione looked at him, eyes shining for a new reason. "You would do that? For me?"

"I'd do a hell of a lot for you, Granger," he muttered, almost too quietly for her to hear. "You have no idea how much." She blushed at the sentiment behind his words 

His hand moved down her neck and he reached her collarbone with his fingers. Her eyes fluttered closed at his touch.

"Granger...Hermione…" Draco's voice sounded quieter. Less confident. She opened her eyes. "Can I…?" He leaned forward and stopped short of her face, looking in her eyes for acceptance. Affection. Affirmation.

Hermione nodded once and closed her eyes again, just as his lips met hers. Where Theo had been heated and fiery, Draco was soft, searching, exploratory. One of his hands threaded his fingers between hers and the other ran up and down her arm, sending shivers through her nerves.

He moved further on the bed and she followed him until they both sat in the center of the mattress. He pulled away, confusing her.

"Did I do something wrong?"

He sighed. "No, never. I did. You've been through a lot this morning. You're raw and emotional. I'm taking advantage of that." He put his hands on her upper arms and tried to push her away. She shook him off and looked at him defiantly.

"I make my own decisions, Malfoy. I wanted this before today. You're not manipulating me unless I'm just using you to make myself feel better."

"You don't have to manipulate me for that," he said.

"Then we're good," she said. "So shut up and kiss me." She saw his gray eyes turn black as she brought her face back to his. She moved to straddle his lap, needing to be closer to him. She gripped his hair, feeling how soft and fine it felt between her fingers. He groaned as she gently tugged against his scalp.

His mouth moved to her ear, pulling her ear lobe between his lips. Each breath in her ear sent heat to her core. Her own breaths grew more ragged.

"You can use me any way you want, Granger." His voice was a rough whisper in her ear. She gasped at his statement, so frank and open. His hands moved to her hips and his mouth started moving down her throat, sucking at the sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulder. She moaned and felt him grin against her skin. 

"I will do whatever the fuck it takes to make you make that noise again," he growled. "And again and again."

Her hands slid under his shirt and she scratched down his back. He made a noise in the back of his throat and he started to pull her own shirt over her head. She lifted her arms to help him. She thought she should feel embarrassed sitting on his lap, dressed in just her bra and jeans, but she was too far gone to care. And the look he was giving her left no room to question what he thought about her appearance. 

His mouth moved down her chest and began to mouth over her breasts above her bra line. She reached up to slide her bra straps off her shoulders. 

"Hermione," he breathed, eyes huge, looking awed. His fingers sliding into the cups of her bra and pulling them down, releasing her breasts from their constraints. He dropped his head to her shoulder and moaned at the sight of her. 

She pulled at his shirt and he yanked it over his head. She started to kiss down his shoulder, panting against his skin as he ran his thumbs over her nipples sending jolts between her legs. She tried to move closer and felt his excitement, clearly evident. She repeated the movement and he gasped.

"Oh...Draco…" If she sounded desperate, it was only because she was. He sharply inhaled at the sound of his name from her lips. She could hear him grind his teeth before he spoke again.

"I will hate myself in a minute, but maybe we should - fuck - stop here unless you want me to completely lose it - shit, Hermione - pin you down, and finish this." Malfoy sounded tightly wound and the fingers of one hand flexed against her hip. "I wanted to do this right. To take my time with you."

She leaned back, a bit dazed, realizing how close she had been to just throwing herself at him completely. She nodded, returning to the present. She blinked a few times to try and clear her head.

"Yeah. Um...yes, you're right."

"I was afraid of that." She looked up at him and saw a smile spreading across his face to soften the words. "How about we take a few minutes to regroup and then we can grab Theo and do some Christmas-y things together?"

"I'd like that," Hermione said warmly.

After Draco had left and she'd made herself presentable again, she smiled. Maybe she would have some new traditions to add to her memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...updates won't always be as quick as they've been this week. I've kind of fallen in love with my (not really mine..they're JKR's, lawyer-people) boys and I'm finding it hard to stop.
> 
> Also, Christmas break wasn't supposed to be 500,000 chapters so apologies for my absolutely crappy pacing. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading and commenting! I love hearing everyone's opinions on these guys!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm excited to continue this!
> 
> Thoughts/comments welcome! :)


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